Palm Beach To Get Bill For $272,000 From Wpb Officials

WEST PALM BEACH — City officials will review and resubmit a bill for $272,000 to the Town of Palm Beach that town officials have refused to pay since the city says the bill came due in June 1982.

The bill is for what the city says Palm Beach owes for shared costs of construction at the Regional Water Pollution Control Plant.

City Commissioners were told at their regular meeting Monday that town officials have balked at payment of the bill, claiming it was not sufficiently documented.

West Palm Beach Mayor Carol Roberts instructed city staff members to prepare a ``precise accounting`` of the bill for city officials within 30 days.

The bill for the town was one that city staff members had presented to commissioners in a list of uncollectable outstanding debts.

Many of the debts are for accidents in which city property was damaged by uninsured motorists, bills such as water bills owed by people who have moved out of the city, and for costs of responding to false burglar alarms at businesses in the city.

Many of the debts are written off because the cost of collection would exceed the amount owed.

Told that town officials were not willing to pay because they were not satisfied with the documentation, Roberts said, ``I don`t blame them for not paying if we have not done a precise accounting.``

But, she said, ``I`m not willing to write off $272,000. I`m willing to tell them if they want more water mains, pay their bills.``

Commissioners said they would review the accounting of the bill to be prepared by the staff and then present it to the town for payment.

Commissioners also asked the staff to negotiate the payment of about $10,000 the city claims the town owes for work done on the water system in the town.

City officials claim the bills are for work that was done in the town between Oct 81 and March 82.

The disagreement over the payment stems from a provision in the contract between the localities that calls for the town to pay for work done on the system within its boundaries, minus a $1,000 deductable.

City Attorney Carl Coffin said the two parties have different ways in determining when to apply the deductible.

In other items Monday, the commission:

(BU) Gave preliminary approval to a rezoning request that will allow development of Centrepark. Centrepark is a proposed mixed-use development of about 1.4 million square feet of office, commercial and hotel uses in about 11 buildings. The property is bounded by Australian Avenue and Interstate 95 on the west and east, respectively, and begins about 700 feet north of Belvedere Road.

Final approval of the rezoning will be considered at the commission`s regular meeting next week.

(BU) Agreed to put on next week`s agenda a proposed ordinance that would give an exclusive franchise for non-emergency medical transports to the same company that holds the exclusive county franchise for emergency medical transports in the city.

The move is in reraction to a suit brought by an ambulance company that claims the city is illegally denying it the right to participate in non- emergency transports in the city.

The company claims that state law only allows the state and counties to regulate ambulance service.

(BU) Set a public hearing for noon Monday to hear comments on the proposed City Center Plan. When adopted, the plan will set the framework for future development in the 750-acre core of the city, which is bounded by Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Okeechobee Boulevard, Lake Worth and Austrailian Avenue- Seaboard Coast Line Railroad tracks.